How many Democratic congressmen does Texas have in the 2024 Congress?
Executive summary
Texas sends 38 members to the U.S. House in the 2024 Congress; available sources report the Texas delegation consisted of 25 Republicans, 12 Democrats and 1 vacancy as of 2024 (total 38 seats) [1]. Ballotpedia and congressional records confirm the 38 seats and document competitive 2024 races that left Democrats with roughly a low-double-digit delegation in Texas [2] [3].
1. Texas’ delegation in 2024: the headline numbers
Congressional rolls and state-by-state summaries show Texas had 38 U.S. House seats in 2024; one widely cited breakdown lists 25 Republicans, 12 Democrats and 1 vacancy, yielding 12 Democratic House members from Texas in that Congress [1]. Multiple election trackers and Ballotpedia’s 2024 coverage of Texas House races corroborate the 38-seat total and document the partisan composition and candidate filings that shaped that outcome [2] [3].
2. How that number was produced: redistricting and competitive dynamics
The 2024 partisan split in Texas reflected maps drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature and governor, which sources characterize as a partisan gerrymander that reduced the number of competitive districts and shaped the delegation’s makeup [1]. Ballotpedia’s reporting on 2024 filings notes 164 candidates filed across 38 districts — 63 Democrats and 101 Republicans — and points out that several districts were uncontested by Democrats, which contributed to the GOP edge [2].
3. Why a “vacancy” matters to the count
One source explicitly lists one vacancy among Texas’s 38 House slots in 2024, which is why some tallies show 25 Republicans + 12 Democrats + 1 vacancy rather than a clean 25–13 split [1]. Available sources do not detail the cause or resolution of that specific vacancy in the provided material; they simply record its existence in the delegation summary [1].
4. New members and turnover that shaped Democratic strength
Reporting from The Texas Tribune notes that multiple newly elected Texans joined Congress after the 2024 elections, and that Democrats picked up some new representatives even as Republicans retained a strong majority of the state’s seats; the Tribune specifically reported five Texans were newly elected to Congress in 2024, four set to serve in January, which affected the delegation’s composition [4]. Ballotpedia’s 2024 election coverage likewise documents which districts were uncontested and which saw Democratic nominees, information that explains why Democrats ended the cycle with about a dozen seats [2].
5. Alternative readings and the limits of the available reporting
Some primary sources (Congress.gov member lists and Ballotpedia) provide raw membership and filing data but require cross‑referencing to get a single canonical partisan tally for the 118th Congress; for example, the Library of Congress listing shows Texas members across service years but does not produce a neat summary line in the snippets provided here [3]. Wikipedia’s delegation page gives a clear summary (25 R, 12 D, 1 vacancy) but Wikipedia’s framing and language about gerrymandering reflect editorial synthesis rather than an official government count [1]. Readers should note that the provided sources occasionally present snapshots at different times (candidate filings, primary results, post‑election certainties), so slight discrepancies can arise depending on timing [2] [1].
6. What this means politically
A 12‑member Democratic House delegation from Texas in 2024 leaves Democrats a minority within the state’s congressional corps, constraining Texas Democrats’ collective leverage in setting agenda items tied to the state and reducing the number of Democratic committee members originating from Texas [1]. Texas Democrats and party officials framed the 2024 cycle as competitive and emphasized gains in particular districts even as statewide GOP control of redistricting limited overall Democratic scope, a viewpoint reflected in party messaging from 2024–2025 coverage [5] [4].
7. Read this with healthy skepticism
The most specific partisan breakdown in the provided reporting is the 25 R / 12 D / 1 vacancy figure on the Texas congressional delegation page, which is our best-cited single-number answer here [1]. However, available sources do not present a single official document from the House Clerk or Secretary of State in the supplied set that restates that exact tally; alternative trackers (Congress.gov, Ballotpedia) supply corroborating details but require reconciliation across snapshots [3] [2]. If you need an official roll-call style confirmation, consult the House Clerk’s membership roster or the certified roll for the 118th Congress (not found in current reporting).